Trustingnews.org is now live

Posted
Monday, February 13, 2017 2:58 pm

By Joy Mayer, Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute

How do people decide what news is trustworthy? How can journalists influence what users consume and share on social media? And in the era of fake stories, when untruths often travel faster than the truth, what can credible journalists do to stand out?

When we began the Trusting News project in January 2016, we had no idea how the presidential campaign would evolve. We didn't know the intentional spread of false information would play an even larger role in the information climate. We didn't know Facebook's algorithm would move toward favoring posts shared by individuals over those shared by pages, making it all the more important that news consumers help spread our content.

We just knew the issue of reclaiming the credibility of journalism was worthy of focused attention.

We started by identifying strategies used by other industries to build trust. We learned from people immersed in issues like patient-physician trust, nonprofit storytelling and corporate transparency. We read research on trust and accuracy from a variety of perspectives. We also talked to working journalists about where they saw the biggest gaps.

The biggest takeaway is that across the strategies, successful posts anticipated users' needs, moods and motivations. They met people where they were. They demonstrated that journalists knew who they were talking to and how to best invite interaction.

The strategy results include examples of what users responded to and what fell flat. You'll also find tips on how to write and frame posts in a way that's likely to connect with audiences, along with worksheets for each strategy to get started in your own newsroom.

I hope the posts inspire you to more effectively communicate your value and your relationship to the people you aim to serve. I hope they inspire you to demonstrate that users can help set your agenda and that you value what they contribute.

KLRU in Austin, Texas, created a Facebook group to continue a dialogue started at a public event they held focused on unity and civil rights. The group hosted meaningful conversations (and even spun off into a book club).

Would you be brave enough (or foolish enough) to invite online conversations about the Black Lives Matter movement? The Standard-Examiner in Ogden, Utah, has established a relationship with its community based on a consistent back-and-forth dialogue. That gave them the credibility they needed to host respectful conversations in a video series on topics like Black Lives Matter and guns in the community. That's Jedi-level engagement.